› added 13 years ago

479

TIL dolphins protected a group of humans from a 4m white shark by circling the group and forming a protective shield

Read more m.guardian.co.uk

via reddit.com

R5Jg6 TIL that it's a Slavic tradition to put love carp in a bathtub to flush it's digestive tract prior to eating it for Christmas (this is an actual photo on Wikimedia Commons by the way)
R7n0j Humpback whales are far better known for their bellowing "songs" that can travel up to six miles, but the animals also have quiet voices. Biologists have observed humpback calves “whispering” to their mothers in tones that can be heard only within 330 feet—a strategy to prevent predators, such as orcas, from eavesdropping. Calves also want to avoid adult male humpbacks, which may try to separate the calf from its mother to mate. This shortened time with its mom could ultimately weaken the calf, which needs to drink 50 gallons of milk a day to fuel up for its long migration.
6EX1w TIL emperor Hirohito offered to order all the Japanese to convert to Christianity to end the imperial religion, but general MacArthur refused, saying it would be wrong to force a whole nation to convert.
neQkb TIL of the Grand Hotel in Scarborough, England, which had 365 rooms for each day of the year, 52 chimneys for the weeks, 12 floors for months of the year, and was shaped in a V to represent Queen Victoria
Y7ELZ TIL of Deli Mike, an Airbus A340 with frequent electrical problems—one of which was once solved allegedly by patting its faulty instrument door panel and asking "what happened to you, big man?"